Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking

Posts: 4,316

Two Late Gothic Tiller Guns, ca. 1400-20 and 1450

Both are relatively light, of small-bore and easy to handle.

The first item may not have been made long after the Hussite Wars were over, mid to early second half of the 15th century.
Its wrought-iron barrel is of cylindrical round section throughout, with only slight swamping of the muzzle area, the large touch hole situated on top. As it has a hook, it was apt for both stationary and field use. The integral iron tiller terminates in a ring.
Overall length 77 cm, bore 14 mm.

The second is even smaller, and notably earlier, of ca. 1400-1420 and may be attributed to the period of the Hussite Wars. It stlll shows the early style of reinforcing the actual barrel by separate iron coating (breech scetion) and rings (central and muzzle section). The touch hole is on top and, as on most guns around 1400, of relatively small diameter. The tiller is broken off, retaining just a fragmentary portion. This was a light long gun for field use.
The surface still shows traces of original minmium (red lead) paint, so this item was originally all red instead of black and rusty like today.
Overall length, as fragmented, 30 cm, bore 24 mm.

The tiller guns depicted here seem to have an ignition mechanism integrated with it?

I was thinking about this picture about 2-3 years ago. Then I have came to the conclusion that it just flexible steel spring fitted by nails from one end and tinder grasped in another end. And it seems that handgonners push on the free end of the spring by his thumbs to bend it so that tinder go into the touch hole. It doesn't look like "classic" serpentine

Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking

Posts: 4,316

Shame on me -

I have to admit that I did not notice my friend Marcus's post - thank you so much, Alexender, my Russian friend, for pointing it out to me.

Marcus, those illustrations are really great.
If it were not for your effort, and spending many hours searching the web for such important sources, all of us students of weaponry would be far less enlightened ...
Also, your young eyes are much better than mine.

Anyway - without your hint, I would have overlooked that delicate long and flat igniting action hovering tightly above the surface of the barrel ...Actually, that wormlike tinderholder seems to be spring loaded, or, as Alexender has suggested, be nothing but a leaf spring moved manually.
Alexender, I am convinced that your thinking, as always, is logical and correct.
I cannot imagine any other way how this action might possibly work.